Pretty Little Liars: Why This Soapy Teen Thriller Can Rub Shoulders With HBO’s Big Boys

Laura Vincent runs a one-woman roundtable discussion, presenting evidence as to why her favourite show Pretty Little Liars deserves just as much attention as Game of Thrones or The Wire. It was sincerely and without hyperbole that I said, after watching the season six premiere of Pretty Little Liars, “that episode was literally better than any episode … Read more

A Spinoff Investigation: What NZ Broadcasting Legends Would Play on Campbell’s First XV?

Some great news came through yesterday: John Campbell is going to Samoa to play rugby. In anticipation of the big match The Spinoff’s leading rugby expert has picked John Campbell’s Rugby Team XV for their first ever test match against Samoa. 1 Duncan Garner Like his front row teammates, Garner has proven he can more … Read more

Dancing With the Stars: Power Rankings, Week Four – Reluctantly Pulling the Cork on Pam Corkery

Alex Casey delivers her fourth power rankings for winter wonderland week of Dancing With the Stars, wherein hell freezes over, Pam gets eliminated and Teuila does the running man. The power rankings are a little late this week, as I have been very busy rocking gently in a corner, despairingly imagining the next few weeks … Read more

Shortland Street: Power Rankings – Sucky Cancer, Ministry Creepers and Seductive Swedes

Elyse Robêrt brings us this week’s Shortland Street power rankings, covering the brownie-assisted highs and cancer-assisted lows of life in Ferndale. Tis the season – the winter season. And that means more Shorty, 30 minutes more to be precise. We’re missing the Warners who are still off on their fancy holiday; Kylie is inadequately jealous … Read more

Podcast: Dancing With the Stars, Week Four – Moonwalking in a Winter Wonderland

With Duncan in Spain and Rikki struck by winter malaise, Jane Yee and Alex Casey venture onto D-floor alone, unequipped and a little frightened. Luckily, Siobhan’s magic powder blessed them with the ability to record a cohesive podcast, in which they recap week four on Dancing With the Stars New Zealand. For the winter wonderland … Read more

True Detective: Washed-Up Actors and World Weary Quotes – What to Expect From Season Two

The new season of True Detective starts tonight, bringing with it a whole new story, cast and setting. Time may well be a flat circle, but feels like a bloody long time to me since the first season. I’ve decided to assemble a refresher package for those delving back into the musky True Detective world. … Read more

Shorty Street Scandal: Celebrating One Year With Hash Brownies, Alpacas and Stolen Shoes

Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? Pixie goes down in a brownie blaze, Boyd and Harper talk dirty and James celebrates one year of Shorty Street Scandal: Rampant leg cancer aside, Pixie has been living a pretty cruisey life in Ferndale. She gets personal visits … Read more

Game of Thrones: Don’t Get Married – The Ultimate Game of Thrones Survival Guide

Hayden Donnell looks into the oozing ruptured abdomen of Game of Thrones and tries to discover how to make it through this doomscape alive. Contains endless spoilers, obviously. Game of Thrones is trying to inflict as much emotional and physical harm on you as possible. It wants to teach you that good guys don’t always win, that honour … Read more

Fail Army: How Did a Proudly Stupid YouTube Ripoff Become a Smash Hit?

Lost amongst TV3’s big budget reality imports and current affairs cancellations has been one unexpected hit: YouTube-on-TV clip show Fail Army. Duncan Greive tries to figure out how this designed-to-fail show works. Of all the millions of new shows TV3 has launched this year, few had lower expectations than Fail Army. A clip show screening … Read more

The Spinoff’s TV Week: Waxed Chests, Hash Brownies and Reality Rednecks

Alex Casey and Duncan Greive look back across the week in television and pick their favourite moments. 1. Come Dine With Me NZ is Perfect Right Out of The Oven There is no better illustration of MediaWorks’ maniacal new direction than its absent-mindedly plopping Come Dine With Me in the slot formerly reserved for Campbell … Read more

Fragmentary Thoughts: The Unapologetic Oddballs of Come Dine With Me NZ

Fragmentary Thoughts is a comic strip by José Barbosa, in which he’ll tackle a different television show or phenomenon each month. In this instalment, he celebrates the best bonkers moments from week one of Come Dine With Me NZ.  Among all the angst and genuine uncertainty that has come to characterise New Zealand’s TV industry, the local … Read more

Reality Trip: Fake Eyelashes, Factory Floors and Flagrant Racism in TV3’s New Documentary Series

Alex Casey introduces the young subjects in TV3’s new documentary series Reality Trip, including a 25 year-old with the views of a crazed senior citizen.  TV3’s new series Reality Trip takes a group of young New Zealand consumers and whisks them around the world, confronting them with the reality of how their favourite products are … Read more

Throwback Thursday: A Brief History of New Zealand’s Politicians on Reality TV

In a time before she donned a sparkly dress and mom-danced (as my flatmate put it) on free-to-air television, before she called one journalist a “puffed up little shit” and another Cameron Slater’s “glove puppet”, our dearly beloved Pam Corkery was once an MP. For three years, she occupied a seat in our hallowed halls … Read more

American Horror Story: Introducing Some of the Kickass Witches in the AHS Coven

Alex Casey introduces the key witches in American Horror Story: Coven, and breaks down each of their unique powers in the spellbinding horror series.  The third season in the skin-crawling anthology series American Horror Story follows modern day witches living together in New Orleans, Louisiana, all residing under one roof at Miss Robichaux’s Academy. There’s a more … Read more

Podcast: UnREAL, The Bachelorette and Making Love on Television

A Spinoff special covering Lightbox’s exceptional new bleakly comic drama UnREAL and the mindblowing new season of The Bachelorette, playing on TVNZ On Demand. The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and Duncan Greive are joined by The Pantograph Punch‘s Kirsti Whalen – who has watched every single English-language Bachelor franchise – to discuss the way the search … Read more

Dancing With the Stars: Power Rankings, Week Three – Col’s Cornrows and Si’s Ginger Knee

What a sexy week. Actually no, sexy then devastating. Like dropping a delicious gateau into a pile of mud. Or, indeed, dropping a scandal queenie onto a dancefloor on national television. The elimination of Colin Mathura Jeffree has sent shockwaves through the nation, with the social movement #CornrowsforColin truly taking Twitter by force. Goodbye my … Read more

Video: My Reality Rules – The Spinoff’s Panel Discussion at the NZ Young Writers Festival

The first ever New Zealand Young Writers Festival was held in Dunedin last month. Alex Casey and Duncan Greive were asked to do a panel discussion about reality television, and it’s place in New Zealand culture. –––– Click here for more from the NZ Young Writers Festival, including an ‘Ask Me Anything’ with Guy Williams … Read more

Power Rankings: Introducing the Inaugural Shortland Street Character Power Rankings

Elyse Robêrt brings us the debut of our Shortland Street power rankings, covering the waxing and waning of Ferndale’s babe medic community. This week was full of classic Shorty behaviour from some of our favourite Tāmaki Makaurau residents. TK was grumpy about everything, Boyd was in Melbourne but still managed to be bossy, and that … Read more

Podcast: Dancing With the Stars Week Three – Tumbles, Flashes and C-Bombs

Jane Yee invites The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and Duncan Greive to the D-Floor to discuss this week’s Dancing With the Stars action. It was an action-packed week, with the elimination of PM-in-waiting Colin Mathura-Jeffree, Teuila’s XXX-rated routine and Jay Jay’s vicious tumble. Also features a shock piece of actual bonafide analysis from Jane, which leaves … Read more

Dancing With the Stars: A Spinoff Investigation – Who Counts the Votes When the Votes Don’t Count?

This afternoon, whilst catching up on last night’s Dancing With the Stars episode, I realised that I hadn’t yet voted for my favourite dancer and all-time person Pam Corkery. I still haven’t got my head around the logistics of the voting system, but I was embodied with nothing more than a pure desire to keep her … Read more

Set Visit: The Musty Turtlenecks and TradeMe Bargains of the ’70s Westside World

Alex Casey took a time machine taxi to the Westside set, and walked onto a pristine replica of 1970s New Zealand with all the novelty retro trimmings. There is nothing more surreal than sitting on the West family toilet. The bowl itself? Hard plastic and skin-crawlingly orange. Perching next to it is a crocheted toilet paper … Read more

Music Monday: Step Dave Meets Shortland Street in TV Legends Supergroup The Bros NZ

Joseph Moore discovers The Bros NZ, an acoustic supergroup lurking in Grey Lynn that features Step Dave from Step Dave banging on a box. And so much more. The journey from mildly well-known Shortland Street star to legit-as-musician is a path that has been often travelled, yet seldom nailed. There have been valiant attempts. Paul … Read more

Appointment Viewing: Beneath the Bottom of the Game Show Barrel Lies ‘The Tipping Point’

Our off-peak TV connoisseur Calum Henderson watches The Tipping Point, the human versus machine game show that strikes a crucial balance between moronic and enthralling. In moments of hopelessness and despair, it can be easy to think that TV’s best game shows belong to the past. Millionaire has been clocked. Every possible permutation of Deal … Read more

Appointment Viewing: Cooking With Coolio and Stripping With Sugar Ray in Celebrity Wife Swap

Alex Casey watches the return of Prime’s Celebrity Wife Swap, and recaps the dramatic first episode starring Coolio and Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath. What’s it about? Celebrity Wife Swap USA invites two undeniable has-beens to put their poor wives forward for the most bizarrely, seemingly pointless task of all time. Hopping in a limo to … Read more

Set Visit: The Mad Dogs and Fiery Breasts of Britain’s Got Talent

Our UK correspondent and talent show cynic Chris Hooper attended the spectacular Britain’s Got Talent live semi-final, and discovered a beating heart underneath the flaming bras. I’ve been invited to the semi-finals of ratings juggernaut Britain’s Got Talent and was intrigued to uncover the broad appeal. Because on the surface it looks pretty bonkers. I received Production … Read more

Throwback Thursday: Scaley Fingers, Scarecrow Stalkers and Cabbage Babies – The Most Horrific Moments in Round the Twist

Alex Casey remembers her most traumatic childhood television experience – watching videotapes of body horror kids’ show Round the Twist at primary school. My primary school had a reliever teacher called Mr Anchor. He would cycle in from the next town on a rickety bike, absolutely laden with bags of trinkets and musical instruments. If your … Read more

A Spinoff Investigation: What Does Marshall From Shortland Street Want With St Kevin’s Arcade?

Alex Casey tries to get the scoop on ex-Shortland Street actor Paul Reid’s plans to buy K Rd icon St Kevin’s Arcade, and imagines some of his proposals for the space.  The most scandalous rumour in the soap-actor-gone-Rubicon-gone-real-estate-tycoon world this week is that ex-Shortland Street star Paul Reid is looking to purchase St Kevin’s Arcade on … Read more

Inside the Lightbox: What to Watch to Get You Through Droughtlander

With Outlander‘s Jamie and Claire setting sail off our screens, Tara Ward cues up some more fantastic shows that will help you cope with the dreaded ‘Droughtlander’. Outlander has bid us ‘au revoir’ and sailed off into the French sunset, leaving us with a giant Jamie Fraser-sized hole in our Sunday nights. Outlander was a television … Read more